As an omnidirectional vehicle capable of moving in all directions (all two-dimensional directions) on a floor surface, the ones disclosed in, for example, patent documents 1 and 2 have been proposed by the applicant of the present application. In the omnidirectional vehicle disclosed in these patent documents 1 and 2, a ball-shaped or wheel-shaped or crawler-shaped traveling motion unit capable of traveling in all directions on a floor surface while being in contact with the floor surface, and an actuator having an electric motor or the like that drives the traveling motion unit are mounted on a base body of the vehicle. The vehicle travels on the floor surface by driving the traveling motion unit by the actuator.
Further, as a technique for controlling the traveling motions of this type of omnidirectional vehicle, the technique disclosed in, for example, patent document 3 has been proposed by the applicant of the present application. According to the technique, the base body of the vehicle is provided such that a base body freely tilts longitudinally and laterally relative to a ball-shaped traveling motion unit. The vehicle is moved according to a tilting motion of the base body by measuring the tilt angle of the base body and by controlling the torque of an electric motor, which drives the traveling motion unit, so as to maintain the tilt angle at a predetermined angle.